Saturday, January 5, 2013

The Hysterical and Mendacious Ann Coulter

5 comments:

Yes, she goes full Ann Coulter a few times. I think, though, that her point about concealed carry creating uncertainty among criminals is a valid point.

I've mentioned before how Knoxville had a rash of muggings right next to campus one year, and especially one semester when I was there. What I didn't mention was that there were also lots of brazen home invasions in that neighborhood where a guy with a gun or knife would crawl in the window--one time, crawling right over top of the student in the room, and then the accomplice would come in and take everything of value. These, like the muggings, were eventually solved by having tons of police patrols that were so thick that you could always see a cruiser in the neighborhood wherever you were.

There were other neighborhoods that had no police presence but had very few such home invasions. The difference was that everyone knew that the neighborhood next to campus was highly populated with students and non-student hippies--two groups not typically known to have guns. The other neighborhoods were populated with rednecks, and the few home attempts attempted there were usually met with a 12 gauge or a handgun--which guns were often only brandished and not fired. Local media would report these defensive gun uses, and you wouldn't hear about another such attempt for quite a while.

Allowing teachers to carry concealed might have a similar effect. Most teachers would not Want to carry, and they should not be forced to, but if it was known that some teachers did, and that they could be anywhere, it would provide a disincentive to shooters.

As for the concerns regarding children getting guns or our schools looking like prisons, etc., the growth of concealed carry has led to a plethora of concealment products including holsters that securely hold a gun, but allow a shirt to be tucked over it. The only people likely to notice that a person is carrying in these cases are other carriers who know what to look for and police who know what to look for. Kids aren't likely to notice, and a kid can't quickly grab a gun that is in someone's pocket or that has a shirt tucked over it. If the teachers who were authorized to carry were required to keep the gun ON their person instead of in a purse, briefcase, etc., that would remove the possibility of it being found and played with while the teacher was distracted. To avoid accidents, teachers should be forbidden to handle the gun while on school property unless there was a horrible situation that required its utilization. Leaving it in a bathroom stall like some TSA agents have done should be Harshly punished.

This really leaves only one of the usual objections--what if the teacher is unstable and decides to go on a shooting spree. This is highly unlikely since every teacher I have known or heard of is in it for their love of their students. Also, it is a bit of a non-sequitur as spree shootings are, in every case I've heard of, premeditated actions, and under the present circumstances, any teacher who snapped could easily bring a gun onto the property illegally even under the current situation.

Finally, I'll note that at least Utah has allowed concealed carry of the type I'm talking about for years, and they haven't had the type of accidents or out of control teachers we're worrying about.

Hysterical & Mendacious? Ann Coulter? Are you kidding me, Mikeb? Your title is simply a way to divert from the content and kill the messenger.Like all progressives you have zero common sense and facts, logic and reason are beyond your capacity and capability. If I'm wrong, take what she said and argue the points instead of dismissing her comments with, she is a hysterical story teller. You will have to argue sitting down because you don't have a leg to stand on.

I doubt very much that the UK has 10 TIMES the home invasions we do. And I know for sure that it's wrong to say only Loughner did his mass shooting in a non-gun-free zone. That's going around the internet like a brush fire, one lying pro-gun person picking it up and repeating it from another.

I think there were other questionable things in her hysterical rant, but I not digging them out right now.